Not a great game but Wales won 12-6. First time since 1999! What a win.
A blog featuring whatever I fancy, often on the Christian faith but not exclusively
Midweek Meeting November 26 2014
I wasn't quite well yesterday but well enough to get along to the midweek meeting where a good crowd gathered to pray and to look together at Philippians 1:27-30. I made four practical points -
1.
Conduct yourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel
2. Stand and fight
in one spirit as one man for the faith of the gospel
3. Do not be
frightened by those who oppose you
4. Count it a privilege not only to
believe in Christ but also to suffer for him
Lots to pray for near and far as ever.
A Trip to see Focus and my family in Wales
A short while ago I noticed that Focus were playing in Swansea on November 24 so I decided on a trip to see them and my boys. My attachment to Focus goes back to my teenage years when I was converted and wanted to find a rock band that would not corrupt me. It is a little like paying homage.
I had duties here on Monday afternoon and so didn't get away as early as I hoped and with traffic and so on did not reach the venue (The Scene) until just after Focus had started.
They were just coming to the end of House of the King when I got there. I guess they would have started with Focus 1. The first half was all the old stuff including a brilliant Eruption, including Tommy, Sylvia and so on. The newer stuff didn't get played until the second half. It is hard to put into words what a brilliant band this is. The only low point for me was at the end of a ripping Harem Scarem where Menno Gootjes was left more or less to himself. It left me rather cold. Interestingly, because it was like something out of the seventies. Focus were never like something out of the seventies but always transcended the decade.
One treat at the concert was seeing just a few people dancing at the front to the rock numbers. The flute passages were also an immense treat. During the interval I bought the new double helping of Swung where the band minus Van Leer jam. Interesting stuff. Van Leer's wife Anneliese runs the shops. She has no English (and I no Dutch). I said Thank you very Dutch. She said "What is Dutch?"!
The main set closed with an excellent Hocus Pocus, which now includes a second extended drum solo for the amazing Pierre Van Der Linden. As I watched him endlessly work his way round the kit it made me wonder have I ever preached at all? Here is a man who knows his drums better than I know any text I've preached. Surely I should be immersing myself in the texts week by week. Yes, you may not be appreciated (a Van Der Linden drum break is not to everybody's liking) but you will be thorough.
So by the end of the concert I was pretty impressed and would have been happy to leave. There was some enthusiasm for an encore, however, and the band returned with Focus 3, a beautiful number that has grown and grown on me over the years, and its partner Answers Questions Questions Answers. The flute playing at this point was beyond beautiful and I was gone. Amazing.
*
I then needed to find my car which I had parked in haste in a city I don't know well and head for my son Dewi's. I had a nice session with him (fresh back from a weekend away with the CU in Pembrokeshire plus a trip to Cardiff where another son was preaching). He's doing fine. We went out for breakfast the next morning and had a fry up (not a good idea). I then headed on to Cardiff where I had lunch with Dylan who is working with UCCF this year and doing fine. I also popped up to Cwmbran to see my sister as she has been in hospital for a short op. She seemed well. I also met her kind neighbour and then my nephew Will came back with tales of how a friend had here handbag stolen when they were walking in Newport last Saturday (part of a haul of 13 I understand). I did start to feel a little ill before I left but only indigestion.
*
Anyway on the journey home I felt increasingly unwell and eventually pulled off the M$ in Reading and headed for the A&E of The Royal Berkshire. By this time I was pretty sure I must be having a heart attack. They rushed me straight in and gave me an ecg, etc. Anyway it wasn't that and after they had given me an intravenous pain killer I was fine. After being seen by a doctor I was able to go. It was quite late by then and when I tried to rejoin the M4 it was closed. It was a bit of a nightmare getting home but I was in bed by 2 am, shattered. I'm still not quite right so I'm heading for the doctor's next.
Lord's Day November 23 2014
Preaching at Trafalgar Square today
It was good to have another opportunity to preach in Trafalgar Square today. It was a little wet but not wet enough to keep crowds away. Our only problem really was that we were a little short of people to preach. Some of our regulars were busy. The meetings are arranged by Sebastian Mani seen above.
Kingfisher
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| Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons |
Midweek Meeting November 19 2014
We were a little lower in numbers tonight than of late only just creeping into double figures. We were looking at reasons to be cheerful from Philippians 1:19-26. That and the prayer time seemed to go off quite well I guess. We have a members meeting for November 20 so I tried not to keep people too late. The seven reasons to be cheerful are above.
Excellent lecture on Hildersham
We were treated to an excellent lecture lunch time last Monday from Lesley Rowe on Arthur Hildersham. it seems to me that the best lectures have three qualities. 1. They know their subject inside out 2. They are able to produce a brief, relevant and to the point talk 3. They are able to present that material and answer any questions after. This time round all three qualities were in evidence and it was gratifying to see a larger than usual crowd present. I think Lesley managed to sell a good pile of books too. My brief review of the book is elsewhere on this blog, if you click Arthur Hildersham below. Another sidelight, the library has a copy of Hildersham's most popular work, a catechism on the Lord's Supper. It is a tenth edition but still very early.
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How it is these days 3 (The C of E)
It is difficult to track down the quotation but it is agreed that Charles Hodge in Old Princeton was one who took immense pride in his oft-repeated claim that there was nothing new or innovative whatsoever in his theology or in that taught at Princeton during his time at the helm.
Contrast that with Justin Welby the present Archbishop of Canterbury. He is widely reported as saying recently, in light of the acceptance of women bishops, “Today we can begin to embrace a new way of being the church and moving forward together” and “I think it means above all that we have started a completely new phase of our existence as the church."
Of course, it won't stop there. People are already saying that it must be gay bishops next and logically, I suppose, who can blame them? And atheists too and (consenting) cannibals!!!
How it is these days 2 (funding projects)
A very nice local lady phoned me yesterday to ask if I would help spread the word about a project that seeks to turn a rather water logged part of the local park into a marsh garden for the kids. When she mentioned it would be a national lottery funded thing I said that as a church we would probably find it difficult to be involved. When I looked into it further I discovered that it is part of a thing called The People's Millions whereby since 2005 projects have been nominated and then compete against each other for (what is in this case) the £50,000 prize (prizes vary in value).
On a certain day (this one will be next Wednesday) people are encouraged to phone a certain number and the side that manages to organise the most calls (705 of calls are usually organised rather than spontaneous reactions to the TV reports) the £50, 000 (or whatever) for their cause. Calls cost 15p a time and you can make as many as 10 per person. I have tried to discover where this money goes but there is no mention of this. Presumably after BT, the provider, the lottery people and ITV go back to their den and share it out.
I discovered that on average it takes 5,400 votes to win which = £810 (plus however much you get from the losers). So it is only a thousand or so a day that is being raked off but a lot of that will be with no reward for the good hearted people who pay up. Of course, the money has already taken gained from people foolish enough to put money in the national lottery. There must be a better way.
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